Apparatus for removing snow from railway-tracks.



No. 762,375. PATBNTED JUNE 14, 1904.

DE WITT A. BEAUDETTE. APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SNOW FROM RAILWAY TRACKS.

APPLICATION TILE D FEB. 10, 1904.

10 MODEL.

, "IVE/(70R WITNESSES I .De Mil .xifieaudeiie r 22 MZIZs/r; 3Q. v "ram-rs v UNITED STATES Patented June 14., 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING SNOW FROM RAILWAY-TRACKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 762,375, dated n 14, 1904.

Application filed February 10, 1904:. Serial No. 192,876. (No model.)

DETTE, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Bernardino, in the county of San Bernardino and State of California, have 1nvented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Removing Snow from Rail-- way-Tracks, of which the following is a specification, such as'will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

- The object of this invention is to provide means for aiding a rotary shovel or plow to remove banked snow to a suflicient distance from the sides of a railway-track and to permit of the operation of trains thereon or thereover.

It is a well-known fact that a rotary shovel or plow as now used will not remove banked snow far enough from the sides of a track, and it becomes necessary for a number of men to shovel the snow at the sides of the track back onto the'track and then to go over the track again with a rotary shovel or plow and throw the snow farther from the, track at the opposite side; and the object of this invention is to provide mechanical means connected with a car for drawing the banked snow at the sides of the'track back onto the track, so that it can be reached by the rotary shovel or plow.

The invention isfully disclosed in the fol lowing specification, of which the accompany- 1ng drawings form a part, in which the separate parts of my invention are designated, by

suitable reference characters in each of the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a car or truck provided with my improvement, and Fig. 2 a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings forming part of this specification I have shown at (Z the rails of a railway-track, and I have also shown a small truck or car comprising a suitable frame Z), having a platform Z and the usual axles and wheels 6 The platform Z is provided with a strong upright frame 0, which is connected therewith and secured thereto in any desired manner, and this frame is provided at one end with an extension comprising side members cross-braces oi the side members 0 of the extension of the :of the frame 0.

c composed of "any suitable open-work, and Hmged to the rear ends of frame 0 are wing-plates (Z,- the. hinges being shown at (Z and pivoted or hinged to the front end portion of the wing-plates (Z, as shown at a, are rackrbarsf, which are passed through keepers f connected with the sides Each of the wing-plates (Z is provided with two of the rack-bars f, and the keepers, two of which are employed at each side of the frame 0, are connected with vertically-arranged shafts on which are mounted gears which operate in connection with the teeth of the rack-bars f.

Mounted transversely in the rear end of the frame 0 is a shaft it, provided at its opposite ends with worm-gears if, which operate in connection with gears Zr on the shafts and by turning the shafts it the rack-bars f may be drawn inwardly or forced outwardly, according to the direction in which said shaft is turned, and the wing-plates (Z may be drawn inwardly or forced outwardly in a similar manner.

The wing-plates (Z may be made of any desired dimensions and are preferably about ten feet high and eight feet wide in horizontal section, and it will be understood that the frame 0, the extension thereof with which the wing-plates are connected, and all the other parts, including the operating parts, must be made correspondingly strong, and any suitable means may be provided for turning the shaft Zr; but in the construction herein shown I employ a hand-wheel 2', which is secured to the said shaft Zr and provided with a ratchet Z and a pawl Z operates in connection with the said ratchet, so as to prevent the accidental turning of the shaft 7b, and whenever it is desired to turn said shaft, so as to regulate the position of the wing-plate (Z, the pawl o is turned backwardly, so that it will not engage said ratchet-wheel.

It will be understood, of course, that the car or truck is in practice coupled to an engine or locomotive and is drawn along the track in such a manner that the wing-plates (Z cut into the snow at the opposite sides of the track and pull it or throw it back onto the track, after which the rotary shovel or plow is again passed over the track and the snow thrown farther away at the opposite sides thereof. In practice the wing-plates are supported just above the rails of the track, so that the rear ends thereof may, if desired, swing freely thereover, and it will be apparent that the bars f, which form arms for operating said wing-plates, may be of any desired length, and the angle of inclination of the wing-plates to the sides of the car or truck may be adjusted to any desired extent.

My invention is not limited to the details of construction herein shown and described, and many changes therein and modifications thereof may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a car or truck provided with a frame having a backwardly-directed extension, wing-plates hinged to the rear ends of the sides of said extension and means for adjusting the position of said wing-plates relatively to the sides of the car or truck, substantially as shown and described.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a car or truck provided with a frame having a backwardly-directed extension, wing-plates hinged to the rear end of the sides of said extension, rack-bars connected with the forward ends of said wing-plates, keepers supported over the car or truck through which said rackbars are passed, and means for'forcing said rack-bars inwardly or outwardly, substantially as shown and described.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, a car or truck provided with an upright frame having a backwardlydirected extension, wingplates hinged to the rear ends of the sides of said extension and adapted to swing laterally over the rails of a railwaytrack, and means for adjusting the position of the front edges or sides of said wing-plates relatively to the sides of the car or truck, substantially as shown and described.

4. In an apparatus for drawing snow onto a railway-track from the opposite sides thereof, a car or truck provided with a frame or support having a backwardly-direeted extension which extends beyond the end of the car or truck, wing-plates hinged to the rear end of the sides of said extension or support and extending forwardly, and means for adjusting the position of said wing-plates relatively to the sides of the car or truck, substantially as shown and described.

5. In an apparatus for drawing snow onto a railway-track from-the opposite sides there- .of, a car or truck provided with a frame or support having a baekwardly-directed extension which extends beyond the end of the ear or truck, wing-plates hinged to the rear end of the sides of said extension or support and extending forwardly, and means for adjusting the position of said wing-plates relatively to the sides of the ear or truck, the distances between the point where said wing-plates are hinged being greater than the width of the track, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention 1 have signed my name in presence of the subscribing witnesses this 12th day of December, 1903.

DE WIT'I AGIDE BEAUDETTE.

lVitnesses:

R. M. IuEFER, J AS. 0. DUMBREOK. 

